is broadband dsl better than cable internet?

Question

weve recently purchased broadband dsl the one with the modem and all and i was wondering if cable is faster and better than broadband dsl

Answer 1

Depends on the DSL and the Cable internet. There are areas where DSL is better, and there are areas where Cable is better.

DSL is generally cheaper, but Cable usually has a higher top speed. Technologically, most of the cable networks have been redesigned to eliminate most of the problems inherent in a ring topology as opposed to a star topology.

Answer 2

DSL has come a long way in the past few years. Depending on your needs, providers may allow you to select the type of connection you need. The usage fees are directly related to the amount of bandwidth you want.

In the past, DSL bandwidth was usually lower than Cable connections but most providers now offer several packages. (256Kb/second or 512Kb/second being the most common.)

Both are fast but if you expect to be transferring large files, it may take longer to transfer those files than it would with a cable connection. Additionally, if you're into multiplayer gaming, First Person Shooters especially, you may experience more game lag than with a cable connection, but for surfing the net, chatting and email applications, either will work just fine.

You didn't specify the bandwidth your connection provides, nor did you state what you're doing with your computer, so there's no way to say if switching to a cable connection would be worthwhile.

Check out your internet provider's website for more information about the services and connections they provide. Head over to PC Pitstop to run an internet speed test to see where you're at.

Poke around while you're there. You'll find a ton of useful info on how to make the most of your connection.

Answer 3

I have had both cable and DSL, cable is a lot faster and DSL has a tendency to disconnect a lot and have trouble more often. Of course cable internet is about twice as expensive depending on the service you go with. I guess it just depends on how much you are willing to spend. I myself would never go back to DSL, but that's just me. I hope this helps.

Answer 4

We have both DSL and cable. DSL is the backup, but our cable has only gone down once during a storm, so we're basically wasting money on DSL. The speed difference is noticeable, but it depends on who your carrier is. Our cable company just increased our speed, not that we needed it since it was already fast enough. I generally like stuff that runs through coax cable much better than a phone line.

Answer 5

I started out with dial-up, then I went to DSL, now I have cable, and it is much faster than dsl. The price is way to high though, I have to pay $50.00 a month. But I really like it, and I am on the computer all the time, so that I get my money's worth..lol

Answer 6

DSL and Cable are very similar. Cable is usually a tiny bit faster, but not thaaaaaat noticable to go out and get it. Stick with DSL.

Answer 7

well broadband dsl is better than cable but it is too expensive and cable is cheaper but slower than dsl. i would go with dsl

Answer 8

Yes but I have broadband DSL and it is fast enough except if you have a really big download.

Answer 9

After considering the options, I decided to stay with DSL (256k up/down) rather than cable (384k up/1.5mb down).

Cable - bigger download speeds and slightly faster upload speeds as advertised, until you consider the following, on cable you share bandwidth with everyone else on the wire, which means the more people on the wire, the slower your effective speeds, both up and down. Everyone shares the connection to the ISP. Your packets compete with everyone else on the same wire as you are to get to the ISP.

DSL - a dedicated connection, which means depending on your ISP, the bandwidth TO/FROM your ISP stays the same. No one shares your connection to your ISP. Your ISP then determines the bandwidth depending on the number of concurrent users of that ISP.

I decided I would rather my ISP loading determined my speed, not the combined number of users on my physical wire PLUS the number of users connected to the ISP. By using my DSL connection, I elminated the competition of any other users trying to get to the backbone, which is what multiple users on a cable wire have to contend with to get to the same backbone. I also considered setting up my own private web server and for this, the 256k up/down speed seemed to be the best compromise as the cable was too competitive on getting bandwidth, because of the number of users competing for the wire before getting to the ISP.

I am NOT saying DSL is better than cable, or cable is better than DSL. I AM saying, I chose reduced competition for bandwidth before the ISP by using DSL over cable for the purpose of having my own private web/ftp server. Because of the number of users on the cable wire, DSL serves me better than cable for my purposes for overall throughput both up and down.

COST: $30/month for DSL plus ISP, $60/month cable.plus ISP.

Answer 10

cable offers better download speeds for residential customers and nominal upload speed...DSL offers better upload than cable but the download is still under 1MB/sec...so its about what meets your needs...